Oil leak - I have some thinking to do

[El Andrew]

I'll get some pics later to explain this more. Car was dumping oil on the driveway so took it back to where the sump was recently done to get it diagnosed in case it was more issues with that.

 

Sump is fine. There is some oil present on the passenger side under the head and under the inlet manifold. Mechanic said there is also a lot of oil in the manifold. Thinks it is either a) head gasket leaking or b) turbo is worn and putting oil into the manifold and then leaking out of there. I had previously checked and all of the turbo oil feed, oil pressure sensor and sender etc is all completely dry.

 

His suggested next step was to pull the manifold and piping off to get a better look at everything and then replace the turbo and/or head gasket from there. He said if the head was coming off and everything had to be resealed anyway at considerable cost it was worth thinking about a bigger rebuild so everything was good. He thought it was time to either ditch the car or invest for the long term.

 

I think that is a bit over the top, but agree it is worth thinking about things like water pumps while the motor is out.

 

I'll add more detail later but some of my options I think are:

 

 

1. Get a second opinion - no brainer really.

2. Not really inclined to let someone start pulling it apart for further diagnosis as it is hard to know where it will end.

3. Throw a new turbo on. A Pulsar 3584 Gen 3 looks like a decent upgrade and bolt on other than needing a different elbow for my turbo side intake and I'm guessing a wastegate port. My factory turbo has 150k so isn't exactly new.

4. Consider doing the head gasket myself if that's what it turns out to be - good chance to do valve springs etc while I'm at it.

5. Ignore it.

6. Sell it.

7. Put a built Atomic motor in it

 

Hopefully this isn't another oil leak thread that turns into a welcome to the 600+ thread.

 

Anyway I'll come back with more but interested in what anyone thinks.

[Puffwagon]

Lol at that advice... mechanic checks oil leak, recommends built engine or selling the car.

 

First thing is to clean it 100% and see where it's actually coming from. After you know where it's coming from, you can decide how to fix it. If you actually want a built engine then just go ahead and do that.

[k31th]

The fact he said headgasket is probably definitely wrong as it'll not just push oil, but push coolant. How much oil would you say is leaking? e.g. a litre per drive or a lot less?

[El Andrew]

Yeah good plan - need to try and clean and see where I end up. The oil staining is in very difficult locations unfortunately. I also need to pull the throttle body off and have a look inside the manifold for myself.

I haven't seen any other signs of oil in the coolant or vice versa that might suggest a head gasket issue.

Not a heap of oil loss. Haven't even needed to top up. I had about a 5cm diameter pool on the ground after parking up for the past 4 days. So enough to need sorting out but nothing outrageous.

[Puffwagon]

Unfortunately that is the only way to diagnose an oil leak, it has to be perfectly clean and dry. Could be a leaking turbo oil feed, pretty common thing in that area.

 

If you have a compressor you can use the air gun to blast areas while simultaneously using a pump spray bottle filled with shellite as the cleaning fluid. It's great for spot cleaning without having everything drenched and the huge mess that follows.

[El Andrew]

Thanks I'll give that a go - yep have a compressor.

Or maybe I'll grab the safety goggles and say "Hey kids, who wants to earn 5 bucks? You get to use the air compressor..."

[El Andrew]

Just checked for myself the reported "a lot of oil in the inlet manifold". I could use it as a cereal bowl for my cornflakes it is so clean. Also checked an intercooler pipe and the turbo inlet and was all nice and clean. So I think the turbo seals are ok.

Next stop engine clean.

[Puffwagon]

 

 

[k31th]

wtf was your mechanic talking about if the inlet manifold is clean... wow

[El Andrew]

Yeah I wasn't super impressed when I saw that (the clean inlet manifold I mean, not Puff's Cornflakes videos.)

Finding someone decent in this location is not easy.